The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors with ground shields that are electrically connected.
Some electrical connectors include signal conductors held in discrete packages, referred to as contact modules or wafers, which are stacked within a connector housing. The electrical connectors may include ground shields that are disposed between the signal conductors of adjacent contact modules in order to provide electrical shielding between the contact modules. The electrical shielding may reduce crosstalk between the signal conductors of the adjacent contact modules, and thereby improve signal integrity and connector performance relative to connectors that lack intervening ground shields. The ground shields of the electrical connector may be spaced apart from each other along opposite sides of the contact modules. It may be desirable to electrically connect the ground shields together to electrically common the ground shields, such that the ground shields have the same electrical potential.
Known electrical connectors may include discrete ground tie bars or skewers that extend across the ground shields and the contact modules, with the ground tie bars mechanically engaging the ground shields to provide conductive paths between the ground shields. However, installing discrete ground tie bars may increase complexity and cost due to additional parts, tooling, and labor required to assemble the tie bars into the connectors. It also may be difficult to thread the ground tie bars across the stack into position engaging the ground shields due to difficulty ensuring that the ground shields and contact modules are properly aligned. Furthermore, the ground tie bars may not provide shielding, or at least adequate shielding, between multiple signal conductors that are within the same contact module, such as between an upper signal conductor and a lower signal conductor, to reduce crosstalk between signal conductors in the same contact module.
A need remains for an electrical connector with ground shields that can be efficiently and reliably electrically connected together to electrically common the ground shields, while providing sufficient electrical shielding for the signal conductors of the connector.